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A.  Spaeth 


An  Original  Account 
of 
Luther' s  Death 


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BR  325  .S62  1910 
Spaeth,  Adolph,  1839-1910. 
Original  account  of  Luthers 
death 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Presented    by       D'v^  (£>  U\\^-\^r\  O  X^ . 


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Division 
Section  ■■ 


AN  ORIGINAL  ACCOUNT  OF  LUTHER'S  DEATH. 


RECENTLY  DISCOVERED  IN  THE  KRAUTH  MEMORIAL 
LIBRARY,  MOUNT  AIRY. 


A  few  months  ago  my  friend,  Mr.  Jacob  Rommel,  of 
Philadelphia,  sent  me,  for  our  Seminary  library,  a  volume  of 
Luther's  writings,  formerly  in  possession  of  his  mother-in- 
law,  the  late  Mrs.  L.  Bremer,  nee  Scheuermann.  It  proved  to 
be  the  "Auslegung  der  Episteln  und  Evangelien  von  Ostern 
bis  Advent,  D.  Mar.  Lut.  Aufs  neu  zugerichtet.  Wittenberg. 
Gedruckt  durch  Hans  Lufift.  MDj:.IIII,  dem  Fuersten  ^^V 
Georg  von  Anhalt,  etc.  Von  Casp.  Creutziger  D.,"  contain- 
ing Luther's  sermons  on  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  from  Easter 
to  the  26th  Sunday  after  Trinity,  "revised  and  enlarged  by  my 
good  friend,  Doct.  Casp.  Creutziger,"  as  Luther  himself  states 
in  a  preface  of  his  own. 

On  examining  the  large  folio  volume,  which  is  in  its  orig- 
inal binding  and  very  well  preserved,  I  was  surprised  and  de- 
lighted to  find  on  the  fly  leaf  at  the  end  of  the  book,  and  partly 
on  the  back  cover,  a  full  account  of  the  death  of  Martin 
Luther,  written  in  a  clear  and  legible  hand  and  somewhat  or- 
namental chirography,  together  with  a  brief  report  of  the 
funeral  service  held  in  Eisleben,  on  February  19,  1546,  and 
the  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Jonas. 

The  following  is  a  fac-simile  copy  of  that  interesting 
record,  procured  through  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  Luth.  D. 
Reed,  the  director  of  the  library,  with  an  exact  transcription 
of  the  German  text,  together  with  an  English  translation. 


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OP  0     f      . 

TRANSCRIPT  OF  THE  GERMAN  ORIGINAL. 
Anno.  1.  5.  4.  6.  den  17  February, 
Mithwochens  nach  Valentin! 
Auff  denn  abenth  nach  essens  umb  vly  vhr  wyrth  der  Herr  Doctor       -X[[[ 
Martinus  Luther  schwach,  beclaget  sich  vmb  die  Brust,  Als  mahn 
yhnen  aber,  mit  warmen  tucheren  gerieben,  vnd  zwen  loffel  vohl 
weyus  darynnen  von  Eynhorn  eyngeschabet,  welche  Curdi  vonn 
Wolff  Ramsdorff,  zuuorn,  ehr  der  Doctor  tranck,  eynen  loeffel  vohl 
eynnahm,  zutrinken  gegebenen.     Schlieff  ehr  ihn  der 
stubenn,  yhm  faulbette,  bey  anderthalbe  stunde,  das  der  seyger 
10  schlug,  Do  bracht  mahn  yhnen  zubette,  schlieff  bys  vmb 
eyn  vhr,  Do  weckte  ehr  seynen  famulum 
Ambrosium  Ruthfelt,  vonn  Oelitz,  das  ehr  yhme  die  stuben 
heyssen  solt,  Als  aber  dieselbige  schonn  warm  gehaltenn 
wartt,  steyg  ehr  aus  dem  bette  vnnd  sagt  Doctor  Jona,  Ich 
bin  ssehr  schwach,  Ich  sorge  ich  werde  zw  Eysslebenn  bleyben, 
vnd  gieng  ihn  der  stubenn,  ejmmal  oder  zwey  hin  vnd  wydder 
Legt  sich  dornach  auff  das  faulbettlein,  vnd  clagte  ess  druckte 
yhnen  vmb  die  brust  sehr  hartt,  Aber  doch  schonet  es  ihm  (ihne) 
noch  des  hertzens,  Alsso  rieb  mahn  ihn  mit  tuchern 
vnd  wermette  kussen.  vnd  pfuel  auff  yhnen,  Sprach  ess 
hulffe  yhnen,  das  mahn  yhnen  warm  hieltte,  Ehr  hette  aber 
Fehr  geschwytzt,  des  trostet  yhnen  her  Michael  Coelius, 
welcher  benebenen  Doctor  Jonas  bey  ihm  wahr.  Item  Joannes  Aurl- 
fober,  und  sein  famulus,  Aber  der  Doctor  sprach,  Jha, 
ess  ist  eyn  kaltter  todtes  schweys,  Ich  werde  mejTi  geist  auff- 


gebenn,  dan  die  krankheitt  mehret  sich.  Do  schickte 

malm  eylents  vnd  lies  beyde  ertzte  hoeleun,  Aber  do  wyr 

yhnen  yhn  des,  mit  Aqua  vitae,  Lauendel  wasser,  rossen 

Essig,  vnd  andere  sterkung,  welcher  wasser  vnser  g.  g.  Graff  Albrecht 

vnd  s.  g.  geniahl,  mit  brachten,  x*  bestrichen,  fieng  ehr  ahn 

also  zuredende. 

Ich  dancke  dyr  hergott,  hymlischer  vatter,  das  dw  myr  deynen 

liebenn  sohn  offenbaret  bast,  ihn  den  ich  geglaubet,  den  icb  be- 

kant,  vnd  geprediget  babe,  den  ich  geliebet,  vnd  gelobet,  Aber 

die  gottlossen  yhnen  schenden,  lestern,  vnd  schmehen,  Ich  bytt 

dich,  0  herre  Jesu  Christe,  las  dyr  meyne  ssele  befolenn  ssein 

0  himlischer  vatter,  Ich  weys  ob  ich  schoen  diessen  leyb  lassen 

muss,  das  ich  bey  dyr  ewyg  leben  werde,  Et  dixit,  Sic  deus 

dilexit  mundum,  ut  filium  suum  unigenitum  daret,  vt  omnis 

qui  credit  in  eum  non  pereat,  sad  habeat  vitam  aeternam,  Deus 

qui  saluos  facis  sperantes  in  te,  Et  reducis  ex  morte, 

Wolan,  sprach  ehr  ich  fhar  dahin,  vnd  sprach  3niahl,  Pater 

in  manus  tuas  commendo  tibi  spiritum  meum. 

Darauff  schweyg  ehr  stylle,  vnd  mahn  rutteltte,  vnd  kultte,  vnd 

ryff  yhm,  Aber  ehr  anthwortt  nicht.  Do  streich  mahn  yhme 

Aqua  vitae  vohr  die  nase,  vnd  ryff  lautt  bey  seynem  nahmen 

Doctor  Jonas,  vnd  her  Michel,  Doctor  Martine,  Reuerende  pater 

Wollet  yhr  auch  auff  Cristum,  vnd  die  lehr,  sso  ihr  ihn  seynem 

nahmen  gethann,  sterbenn,  Sprach  ehr  das  mahns  deut- 

lich  hoerenn  konth.     Jha.     Alsso  want  ehr  sich  auff 

die  rechte  seyttenn,  vnd  fieng  ahnn  zuschlaffen,  bys  auf  eyn 

guette  halbe  vyrttel  stunde,  das  mahn  der  besserung  hoffte 

Aber  ihn  des  thet  ehr  eyn  schnarchen,  mit  tyffem  hoelenn,  des 

atthams,  vnd  entschlieff,  zwuschen  2  und  3  vhren  vohr  Mit- 

tage,  yhm  herren  seuberlich,  mit  grosser  gedult,  Gott  wolle 

vns  alien,  genediglichen  helffenn.    Amen. 

D.    M.    L. 

Wyr  konnen  nicht  thuen,  was  eyn  Eyderman  wyll. 
Wyr  konnen  aber  thuen,  was  wyr  wollenn. 
Diesse  wortt  hatt.  D.  Martinus  Lutther,  ahn  die  wanth  ge- 
schriebenn  13  tage  vohr  seynem  todtte. 

Auff  den  Freitag  den  19  February,  nach  2  vhr  nach  Mittag 
hatt  mahn  Doctor  Martinum.  L.  zw  Eysleben  zw  S.  Andres 
ihn  die  Kirchen  getragen,  yhm  Kohr  nyddergesetz,  seynt  yhme 
Furst  Wolff  vonn  Anhalt,  Graff  Heinrich  von  Schwartzburgk 
sein  sohnn  Sychardt,  Graff  Gebhardt,  Albrecht,  Philips,  Vulradt, 
Jorge,  Hans,  vnd  andere  Junge  herren,  Auch  Graff  Gebhardts 
vnd  Albrechts  frauen  Zymmer,  vnd  hatt  Doctor  Jonas,  eynne 

♦A  letter  stricken  out. 


schoene  pred'.gte  gethan,  was  Doctor  Martinus  gewesen,  wye  ehr 
geschrieben,  vnd  was  ehr  geschrieben,  Auch  wye  ehr  seynn  Ende 
hatt  beschlossenn,  vnd  enlschlaffenn,  Vnd  zum  drytten  die 
wortt  Pauli  ausgelegt,  und  seynh  bey  sso  vnd  ihn  solcber  predigte 
mebr  dan  4000  menschen  gewesen,  Gott  bescher  vns  auch 
eyn  sseliges  Ende.    Amen. 

ENGLISH     TRANSLATION. 

Anno  1546,  February  the  17th,  on  Wednesday  after  Val- 
entine's day,  toward  evening,    after     supper,     about     seven       Mf^ 
o'clock.  Doctor  Martinus  Luther  became  sick  (weak)     and 
complained  of  pains  in  his  chest.     But  after  he  had  been  rub- 
bed with  warm  towels  and  had  taken  two  spoons  full  of  wine, 
with  shavings  of  Einhorn  in  it,  of  which     Curdi    von    Wolf 
.Ramsdorf  had  first  tasted  a  spoon  full,  before  the  doctor,  he 
slept  in  the  (sitting)  room,  on  the  lounge  for  an  hour  and  a 
half.     When  the  clock  struck  ten  he  was  put  to  bed  and  slept 
until  one  o'clock.     Then  he  wakened  his  servant    (famulus) 
Ambrosius  Rutfelt  of  Oelitz  and  told  him  to  make  fire  in  the 
room.     But  as  the  room  was  already  warm,  he  rose  from  the 
bed  and  said:  "Doctor  Jonas,  I  am  very  weak;  I  fear  I  shall 
never  leave  Eisleben."     He  then  walked  up  and  down  in  the 
room  once  or  twice.     After  this  he  lay  down  on  the  lounge 
and  complained  of  great  oppression     on    the  chest,  though, 
thus  far,  the  heart  w^as  not  afifected.     When  he  was  rubbed 
with  towels  and  his  pillows  and  covers  were  warmed  he  said, 
it  was  a  relief  to  be  kept  warm,  but  that    he    was  in  a  great 
sweat.     The  by-standers,  Michael     Coelius,     Doctor    Jonas, 
Johannes  Aurifaber  and  his  servant  comforted  him,  saying, 
that  was  a  good  sign.     But  the  Doctor  said,  this  is  a  cold 
death-sweat,  I  am  going  to  give  up  the  ghost,  for  I  am  get- 
ting worse.     Thereupon  both  physicians  were  hurriedly  sum- 
moned.    But  when  we  had  meanwhile  rubbed  him  with  Aqua 
Vitae,  lavender  water,  aromatic  vinegar  and  other  stimulants, 
which  our  gracious  Count  Albrecht  and  his  wife  had  brought, 
he  began  to  speak  thus  : 

'T  thank  Thee,  Lord  God,  heavenly  Father,  that  Thou 
hast  revealed  unto  me  Thy  dear  Son,  in  whom  I  believed, 
whom  I  confessed  and  preached,  whom  I  loved  and  lauded, 


but  whom  the  godless  dishonour,  blaspheme  and  revile.  I 
pray  Thee,  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  my  soul  be  commended  to 
Thee.  O  heavenly  Father,  I  know,  though  I  must  give  up 
this  body,  that  I  shall  liv.e  forever  with  Thee.  Et  dixit.  Sic 
Deus  dilexit  mundum,  ut  filium  suum  unigenitum  daret,  ut 
omnis  qui  credit  in  eum„  non  pereat,  sed  habeat  vitam  aeter- 
nam,  Deus,  qui  salvos  facis  sperantes  in  Te  et  reducis  ex 
morte.  I  am  ready  to  depart."  Then  he  said  three  times, 
"Pater,  in  manus  tuas  commendo'  tibi  spiritum  meum."  After 
this  he  w^as  silent.  When  they  shook  him  and  called  him,  he 
did  not  answer.  They  then  applied  Aqua  Vitae  to  his  nos- 
trils and  called  him  loudly  by  name.  Doctor  Jonas  and 
Michael  (Coehus)  asked  him:  "Doctor  Martine,  Reverende 
pater,  are  you  now  ready  to  die  in  the  faith 
of  Christ  and  the  doctrine  which  you  preached 
in  His  name?"  Thereupon  he  said,  so  that  it  could 
be  heard  distinctly,  "Yes."  Then  he  turned  on  his  right  side 
and  slept  for  some  minutes  (eine  gute  halbe  viertel  Stunde), 
so  that  we  hoped  he  was  getting  better.  Then  came  the 
death-rattle,  a  deep  drawn  breath,  and  he  was  gone.  Thus 
he  departed  peacefully  and  patiently  in  the  Lord  between  two 
and  three  o'clock  a.  m.  God  be  merciful  unto  us  all  and  help 
us.  Amen. 

D.  M.  L. 

We  cannot  do  what  every  one  wills 

But  we  can  do  what  we  will. 

These  words  were  written  on  the  wall  by  Doctor  Mar- 
tinus  Luther  thirteen  days  before  his  death. 

On  Friday,  February  19th,  2  p.  m.  Doctor  Martinus  L. 
was  taken  to  St.  Andrew's  Church,  in  Eisleben.  The  coffin 
was  placed  in  the  chancel.  There  were  present  Prince  Wolf 
von  Anhalt,  Count  Pleinrich  von  Schwarzburg,  his  son 
Sychardt,  Count  Gebhardt,  Albrecht,  Phihps,  Vulradt,  Jorge, 
Hans  and  other  young  gentlemen  also  the  ladies  of  Count 
Gebhardt  and  Albrecht.  Doctor  Jonas  preached  a  beautiful 
sermon,  showing  what  Doctor  Martinus  had  been,  how  and 
what  he  wrote,  and  how  at  last  he  departed  in  peace.     In  his 


8 

third  part  he  explained  and  applied  the  words  of  Paul.  There 
were  more  than  4,000  people  present  at  this  sermon.  May 
God  grant  unto  us  also  to  depart  in  peace.     Amen. 

A  close  examination  of  this  account  convinced  me  that 
it  must  have  been  written  not  only  by  a  cotemporary,  but, 
evidently,  by  an  eye-witness.  Being  anxious  to  ascertain,  if 
possible,  the  personality  of  the  writer,  but  not  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  autographs  of  men,  that  might  have  to  be 
considered  in  this  connection,  I  secured  a  photographic  re- 
production of  the  whole  record,  made  by  Mr.  A.  T.  Michler, 
one  of  our  students,  and  my  friend  Mr.  Fr.ederik  Hassold,  of 
Mount  Airy.  This  photograph  I  sent  to  Prof.  Dr.  Theol.  W. 
Walther,  of  Rostock,  a  well-known  specialist  on  Luther  and 
his  writings,  requesting  him  to  examine  the  matter  thorough- 
ly and  to  give  me  his  opinion  concerning  the  probable  writer 
and  the  value  of  the  whole  record. 

Dr.  Walther  at  once  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  matter 
and  proved  himself  a  most  helpful  and  generous  assistant  in 
clearing  up  the  mystery.  He  wrote  to  me,  December  19, 
1909:  "This  record  is  of  the  highest  interest.  Its  contents 
confirm  throughout  the  other  accounts  of  Luther's  death, 
which  were  known  thus  far.  But  its  form  shows,  that  these 
statements  are  not  based  on  any  of  the  other  accounts  known 
to  us,  but  are  entirely  original  and  independent.  Its  import- 
a,nce  is  increased  by  the  fact  that  this  record  was  evidently 
not  intended  for  publication  or  for  any  outsider,  but  is  simply 
an  entry  in  a  postil,  a  book  written  by  Luther  himself,  and 
printed  two  years  before.  It  is  also  manifest  that  it  never  oc- 
curred to  the  writer  that  any  one  should  be  bent  on  spreading 
false  rumours  concerning  Luther's  death. 

Tlie  first  entry  which  deals  with  Luther's  death,  was 
probably  written  in  the  very  night  of  Luther's  departure,  or 
on  the  day  following,  for  it  ends  with  a  certain  sign,  which 
indicates  a  conclusion.  The  same  sign  (looking  somewhat 
like  a  capital  C  in  Latin  script.  A.  S.),  appears  also  at  the  end 
of  the  whole  entry.  Later  on,  after  the  funeral  service  in 
Eisleben,  there  follows  an  addition,  dealing  with  that  service. 


As  nothing  is  said  on  the  removal  of  the  body  (to  Wittenberg. 
A.  S.)  we  must  suppose  that  the  addition  was  made  immediate- 
ly after  the  service  in  Eisleben,  and  that  the  writer  was  not 
present  at  the  famous  service  in  Wittenberg,  inasmuch  as 
nothing  is  added  on  this  point. 

That  the  writer  was  an  eye-witness  must  b.e  inferred 
from  his  statements  concerning  the  funeral  service,  as  he  gives 
the  number  of  attendants,  the  names  of  certain  persons,  and 
the  contents  of  the  sermon  of  Justus  Jonas,  in  a  form  which 
can  only  be  explained  from  hearing  that  discourse  and  not 
from  reading  it  after  it  was  printed.  But  the  writer  was  also 
present  at  the  death  of  Luther,  as  he  states :  'when  we  had 
meanwhile  rubbed  him  with  Aqua  Vitae.'  And  he  was  a  sub- 
ject of  the  Count  of  Mansfeld,  as  we  read :  'which  our  gracious 
Count  Albrecht,  etc.,  had  brought  along.' 

I  do  not  know  the  hand-writing.  But  its  character  (der 
Ductus)  seems  to  indicate,  that  the  writer  was  not  a  scholar 
but  a  professional  clerk.  Now  the  following  citizens  of 
Mansfeld  were  present  at  Luther's  death :  Aurifaber,  Coelius, 
the  two  physicians,  the  druggist,  Count  Albrecht  and  wife,  and 
the  town  clerk,  Hans  Albrecht.  The  account  was  not  written 
by  Aurifaber  or  Coelius,  nor  by  Count  Albrecht  and  wife  as 
they  are  mentioned  by  name  in  the  record.  Nor  was  it  writ- 
ten by  one  of  the  physicians  or  the  druggist,  inasmuch  as  the 
word  'we'  is  used  before  they  entered  the  house,  where  Luth- 
er died.  Consequently  the  town  clerk  in  whose  house  in 
Eisleben  Luther  lived  and  died,  is  the  writer  of  this  account. 

In  the  hope  that  some  one  might  recognize  the  handwrit- 
ing I  sent  the  photographs  to  G.  Buchwald  in  Leipzig,  and  he 
forwarded  them  to  G.  Kawerau  in  Berlin.  Neither  of  them 
knows  the  handwriting.  But  Kawerau  insists  that  the  words 
'we'  and  'our'  show  the  writer  to  have  been  a  Mansfelder,  and 
that  only  Hans  Albrecht  could  have  been  the  writer. 

Consequently  we  have  here  a  new  record  of  an  eyewit- 
ness who,  while  writing  without  any  special  design,  fully  con- 
firms the  narrative  of  other  eyewitnesses.  We  also  learn  from 
him  some  minor  details,  such  as  an  utterance  of  Luther's, 
written  on  the  wall  in  Albrecht's  house. 


lO 

Dr.  Buchwald  asks  to  have  the  photographs  returned  to 
him,  so  that  he  may  have  a  fac-simile  prepared  for  the  next 
Luther  Almanac." 

So  far  Dr.  Wahher's  letter.  In  the  "Deutsche  Luther- 
aner"  (Jan.  20,  1910)  I  published  a  short  statement  concern- 
ing our  discovery,  with  part  of  Dr.  Walther's  letter.  There- 
upon I  received  a  communication  from  the  Rev.  H.  Rembe, 
Hamilton,  Ont.,  recommending  Professor  Dr.  H.  Groessler, 
of  Eisleben,  as  an  authority  on  the  local  history  of  Mansfeki 
and  quite  familiar  with  the  archives  of  Eisleben.  It  was  hoped 
that  there  he  might  find  other  documents  from  the  hand  gf 
the  town  clerk,  Hans  Albrecht,  and  thus  be  able  to  prove  his 
authorship.  I  at  once  addressed  a  letter  to  that  gentleman, 
accompanied  by  a  copy  of  the  photographs,  and  begged  for 
his  co-operation  in  the  matter.  Unfortunately  Dr.  Groessler 
had  just  died  when  my  letter  reached  its  address. 

Dr.  Walther  has  since  published  an  article  on  our  dis- 
covery in  the  Allgemeine  Lutherische  Kirchenzeitung  of  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1910,  which  contains  a  somewhat  fuller  statement  of 
the  points  made  in  his  letter  of  December  19,  1909,  and  dwells 
particularly  on  the  importance  of  this  document  over  against 
the  malicious  slanders  spread  by  Romanists  with  reference  to 
Luther's  death.  He  says :  "This  discovery  would  have  been 
of  still  greater  importance,  if  it  had  occurred  twenty  years  ago, 
at  the  time  when  the  former  editor  of  the  Germania  (a  violent 
Romanist  periodical,  A.  S.)  sent  forth  his  book  on  Luther's 
death,  in  which  he  charged  that  Luther  ended  by  suicide." 

It  is  wnth  reference  to  this  particular  point  that  we  wish 
to  add  a  few  words  to  the  statements  of  Dr.  Walther  which 
really  cover  the  whole  ground.  In  1889  there  appeared  in 
Mayence  a  pamphlet  entitled:  "Luther's  Lebensende.  Eine 
historische  Untersuchung  von  Paul  Majunke,"  which  claimed 
to  have  been  written  not  for  the  people,  but  only  for  scholars 
(fuer  wissenschaftliche  Kreise).  In  the  preface  to  the  second 
edition  (January,  1890)  the  author  contends,  that  even  the 
most  hostile  reviewer  of  his  pamphlet  had  been  "unable  to 
disprove  the  genuineness  of  the  documents  referred  to  and 
the  credibility  of  the  facts  narrated."  The  whole  pamphlet  of 


II 


82  pages  consists  of  the  following  parts :  i.  "The  fabricated 
report  on  Luther's  death"  (Der  verabredete  Bericht  ueber 
Luther's  Tod).  2.  "The  rumors  concerning  Luther's  death." 
Majunke  charges  the  Lutherans  themselves  with  being  the 
authors  of  certain  awful  rumors  concerning  the  death  of 
Luther.  In  evidence  he  offers  the  following  proof  to  his 
"scholarly  readers":  Christopher  Longolius,  a  theologian, 
highly  recommended  by  Erasmus,  published  an  Oratio  ad 
Lutheranos,  Cologne,  1546,  in  which  he  says:  "Nostis,  homi- 
nem  altero  crure  claudum,  humero  strumosum,  oculo  captum, 
ac  morbo  turn  commitiali,  turn  eo,  qui  libidinem  ejus  ob- 
scoenis  pustulis  indicet,  foede  misereque  confectum."  Inas- 
much as  this  statement  is  addressed  to  Lutherans,  and  as  ne 
says,  Nostis,  you  know,  it  is  evident  that  the  Lutherans  must 
have  been  perfectly  familiar  with  the  circumstances.  Quod 
erat  demonstrandum! 

3.  "The  first  authentic  report  on  Luther's  death."  This, 
according  to  Majunke,  was  published  by  Henricus  Sedulius, 
in  his  Praescriptiones  adversus  haereses,  Antwerpiae,  1606, 
sixty  years  after  Luther's  death.  It  says  that  a  servant  of 
Luther,  who  in  later  years  returned  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
whose  name  no  one  ever  knew,  had  found  Luther  on  the 
morning  of  February  18,  1546,  "Juxta  lectum  suum  pensilem 
et  misere  strangulatum."  Dr.  Walther  in  his  article  for  the 
Allg.  Luth.  Kirchenzeitung,  shows  conclusively,  that  Coch- 
laeus  himself,  one  of  the  most  violent  adversaries  of  Luther, 
completely  demolishes  this  statement,  when,  in  the  later  edi- 
tions of  his  work  "De  actis  et  scriptis  Lutheri"  he  published 
the  report  of  a  loyal  Roman  Catholic,  the  Eisleben  druggist, 
who  had  been  called  in  to  give  an  enema  to  the  dying  man. 

4.  "Luther's  state  of  mind  toward  the  close  of  his  life.," 
which  according  to  the  opinions  commonly  in  vogue  among 
Romanists,  was  one  of  utter  despair  and  demoralization. 

In  an  appendix  are  given  the  "Historia  vom  christlichen 
Abschied  des  ehrwuerdigen  Herm  Dr.  Mart.  Lutheri,"  the 
ofificial  report  on  Luther's  death,  written  by  Jonas,  Coelius 
and  Aurifaber;  the  funeral  sermon  preached  by  Coelius  in 
Eisleben,  Febr.  20,  1546;  the  complete  statement  of  Sedulius 


12 

in  his  Praescriptiones  adversus  haereses,  Antwerp,  1606;  and 
some  utterances  of  Roman  Catholic  writers  of  the  nineteenth 
century  concerning  Luther's  death,  among  them  Moehler, 
JDoelHnger,  Janssen,  not  one  of  whom  stultifies  himself  by 
even  a  remote  reference  to  the  legend  which  Majunke  has 
undertaken  to  resuscitate. 

His  whole  publication  is,  in  reality,  hardly  worthy  of  a 
respectful  consideration  and  a  serious  refutation.  But  the 
fact  that  a  pamphlet  of  this  character  could  be  written  and 
printed  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  of  our  Chris- 
tian era,  and  that^  within  one  month  of  its  first  appearance,  a 
second  edition  should  be  found  necessary,  proves  that  the 
document  discovered  in  the  volume  of  Luther's  Summer- 
Postill  has  an  important  and  providential  mission,  even 
though  it  comes  twenty  years  after  Majunke's  unscrupulous 
slanders.  It  overthrows  the  very  foundation  of  Majunke's 
whole  fabrication,  viz.,  the  claim  that  the  official  report  on 
Luther's  death  was  not  a  statement  of  simple  historical  facts, 
but  an  artfully  constructed  document,  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hushing  up  and  contradicting  certain  unpleasant  ru- 
mors that  had  been  in  circulation  concerning  the  death  of 
the  great  reformer.  We  know  that  even  before  the  "His- 
toria"  was  written,  Justus  Jonas,  only  about  an  hour  after 
Luther's  death,  had  sent  to  the  Elector  a  full  account  of  the 
last  days  and  the  dying  hours  of  Luther,  which  he  dictated  to 
the  secretary  of  Count  Albrecht  adding  in  an  autograph  post- 
script, that  "none  of  them  had  been  able  in  their  great  sorrow, 
to  write  in  his  own  hand."  (See :  Des  seligen  Zeugen  Gottes, 
Dr.  Martin  Luther's  merkwuerdige  Lebensumstaende,  etc. 
von  Friedrich  Siegemund  Keil.  Dritter  Theil.  Leipzig  1754. 
pp.  270-273.) 

But  even  though  this  letter  and  the  official  "Historia" 
afterwards  prepared  by  Jonas,  Coelius  and  Aurifaber  should 
have  been  influenced  by  a  natural  desire  to  represent  the  dy- 
ing scene  in  the  most  favorable  and  edifying  form  for  the  pub- 
lic eye,  no  such  design  can  possibly  be  charged  to  this  ac- 
count of  the  town  clerk  of  Eisleb.en.  It  was  written  under 
the  first,  vivid  impression  of  the  solemn  scenes  at  Luther's 


13 

death  bed  which  the  writer  had  been  privileged  to  witness.  It 
was  written  for  no  other  eyes,  except  his  own,  or  possibly  the 
members  of  his  family.  It  is  from  beginning-  to  end  charac- 
terized by  a  striking  simphcity,  even  naivete.  There  is  no 
careful  choosing  of  words,  no  posing  whatsoever.  The  man 
who  had  been  pres.ent  at  the  last  hours  of  that  illustrious  ser- 
vant of  God  and  who  had  listened  to  his  last  words  of  prayer 
and  confession  felt  himself  irresistibly  compelled  to  fix  the 
memorable  scene  on  paper.  So  he  sat  down,  probably  in  the 
early  morning  hours  of  the  i8th  of  February,  and  entered  in- 
to a  book  of  Luther's  own  sermons,  which  had  often  refresh- 
ed his  soul,  this  simple-hearted  artless  account  of  the  hero's 
death,  which  will  henceforth  stand  as  an  original  and  unas- 
sailable record,  confirming  all  the  essential  features  of  the 
later  official  accounts,  and  utterly  demolishing  the  diaboHcal 
slanders  of  the  Romanists  of  the  seventeenth  as  well  as  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Adolph  Spaeth. 
Mount  Airy,  March,  199^'/^. 


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